Dhaka: A top leader of the Bangladesh Awami League (BAL) and former minister of water resources of Bangladesh Ramesh Chandra Sen died in police custody on Saturday morning. He was 83.
The incident occurred at Dinajpur District Jail, officials and local reports confirmed, as reported by ANI. The death, barely a few days before general elections in the country, has sparked off protests.
Authorities said that Sen fell ill inside the jail early Saturday. He was then rushed to Dinajpur Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead around 9.29 am (local time).
Sen’s death, has put the interim government under renewed scrutiny over the treatment of politicians in custody.
Senior was a seasoned politician. He was born in Ruhia Union of Thakurgaon Sadar Upazila and represented the Thakurgaon-1 constituency in the Jatiya Sangsad several times.
He also served as a presidium member of the Awami League. He was detained on August 16, 2024, amid the political unrest in the country that led to a mass uprising against the Sheikh Hasina-led government. He was facing three cases including a murder charge tied to the political upheaval.
The death has been severely condemned by BAL. The party has alleged that the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government has been targeting its leaders and activists by “directly and indirectly instigating violence or by using the state machinery”.
“Bangladesh Awami League President and Honorable Prime Minister, Bangabandhu’s daughter, public leader Deshratna Sheikh Hasina, has issued a statement strongly condemning and protesting the killing of Ramesh Chandra Sen-member of the Bangladesh Awami League Advisory Council, former Presidium member, former Minister and Member of Parliament-inside prison custody by the illegal occupying, murderous-fascist Yunus clique,” the party said in a statement.
“In the statement, she said that the illegal occupying, murderous-fascist Yunus group has been continuing to kill Awami League leaders and activists by directly and indirectly instigating violence or by using the state machinery. In a planned manner, they have stripped Awami League leaders, activists, and supporters of their civil rights. They are not only turning them into stateless citizens, but are also carrying out uninterrupted killings one after another. Children, the young, the elderly-women and men alike-are all falling victim to these indiscriminate killings. The killing of Mr. Ramesh Chandra Sen is part of this very continuity. I strongly condemn and protest this murder. At the same time, I call upon the conscience of the world to take note of the hellish state terror being unleashed, with state patronage, against the leaders and activists of the Awami League-an historic and tradition-rich political party,” the BAL statement added.
